Husband alleges hospital tried to cover up crime

The husband of the 30-year-old woman, who was allegedly raped by a doctor of a private hospital she was admitted to on Sunday morning, has alleged that the hospital management tried to cover up the incident.

The husband of the 30-year-old woman, who was allegedly raped by a doctor of a private hospital she was admitted to on Sunday morning, has alleged that the hospital management tried to cover up the incident.

The court on Monday remanded the accused, Dr. Vishal Vanne, 27, in police custody until October 25.The woman, a resident of Koparkhairne, was admitted to Lotus hospital after she complained of giddiness during a visit to a Durga puja pandal on Saturday night.

She was in the intensive care unit where Dr Vanne, the resident medical officer on duty, allegedly raped her. Purshottam Karad, assistant commissioner of police, did not elaborate on the medical reports but confirmed that the woman had been raped.

The woman’s husband alleged that the three doctors who run the hospital had tried to cover up the incident and made objectionable statements about his wife. “They also claimed my wife has mental problems,” he alleged.

He claimed the only other patient in the ICU was fast asleep. “My wife had been given an injection to sedate her,” he said.

The hospital management was not available for comment. Sources said the hospital had decided to discharge all patients and shut down for a couple of days. Hospital authorities had earlier said they had informed the police about the incident when the woman’s husband complained to them.

Purshottam Karad, assistant commissioner of police, said: “We did speak to the management yesterday but later got busy due to [Durga] visarjan. We will speak to them again to find out if there is a case of negligence.”

The victim’s husband alleged that the accused had shown his wife some obscene clips and had even made a recording of her. The husband said his wife did not raise an alarm because she feared for her life. “She had been put on oxygen. He could have strangulated her and claimed she suffered a heart attack,” he said.

Sources in the family alleged that the staff nurse on duty was sleeping outside the locked ICU at the time of the incident. Hospital sources claimed that the nurse had suffered an asthma attack and was being treated by another staff member.

The names of the victim and her husband have been withheld to protect their identities)